Damage control surgery in intracerebral hemorrhage in acute leukemia: a review of two cases.

INTRODUCTION: Intracerebral hemorrhage is the second most common cause of mortality (after infections) in acute leukemia and is responsible for approximately 20% of deaths due to acute leukemia. Management of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is mostly conservative but there exist certain patients who need emergent surgery due to the poor Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) despite their coagulopathic state. CASE REPORT: We present here two such cases which were successfully managed with decompressive craniectomy which was done as a damage control surgery thus stating the importance of surgical intervention in the management of acutely deteriorating patients rather than the commonly employed conservative management due to their coagulopathic state.